Embers
by KingdomDream
Summary: Zuko and Katara formed a bond years ago at the end of the A Hundred Year War. However, duties and obligations forced them apart for years. Now they have reunited to combat a gang of assassins that have sworn to bring down Zuko, but they're not kids anymore and their actions hold more weight now more than ever. Are they able to salvage what's left in the embers?


**_(A/N): New story guys! If you are reading this after having read my Teen Titans/Red-X & Raven story then get ready for some new stuff! If you are reading this and haven't read my other story, what is wrong with you? Just kidding! Welcome and I hope you enjoy this story! Without further ado, let's begin!_**

* * *

 ** _Prologue_**

Zuko watched her as he settled Appa in for the night. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and her shoulders were slumped forward. He was far enough for her not to notice his staring…or maybe pretend he wasn't there, but close enough to see the fire in the reflection of her blue eyes.

If he were honest with himself, he had no clue what to say to her. Today—no this entire journey, had been an emotional whirlwind. He wanted to ask her so many things. What had been going through her mind when she finally confronted her mother's killer? Why had she let him go? Was it something to do with guilt or something to do with the fact that he was living a pathetic life? Was she ready to face all their friends tomorrow? Was she angry at him for bringing her on this trip? Did she regret coming? But most of all, Zuko wanted to know if she was okay.

Katara had always been a fixture in his mind ever since he first encountered her. She was always in the back of his mind not matter what was going on. Whether it was when he was so caught up with capturing Aang or whether it was when he was Mai and he thought he had what he finally wanted. That shared moment they had in Ba Sing Se set something off for him. Now, instead of his Uncle acting as his conscious, it was her. He always thought about her when he was in the Fire Nation and the disappointment he could imagine from her when he had betrayed them.

He didn't really have to imagine her anger when he first joined with them. That was the worst part of it though, he was guilty and ashamed about betraying his uncle, but seeing the anger in her eyes every time he looked at her killed him. He tries to remember the trust and kindness in her eyes from the caverns. Taking her to confront her mother's killer was his idea and he thought that this would make her trust him again, but after today it only seems to have made her more upset.

Zuko sighed and walked over to the fire he had set up earlier. He sat across from her, keeping the fire in between them, but more importantly giving her space. She didn't look up or even acknowledge him. She simply continued to stare at the fire. It was times like these that Zuko wished he had his uncle. He would know what to say during a time like this. He looked over to Katara again and couldn't stop the pain that manifested inside his chest at her vacant expression. He's used to seeing her eyes expressive and full of life, whether they were aimed at him in anger and contempt, they still held a spark.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. Katara's eyes moved away from the fire to his face and he cursed. "Sorry, stupid question." He muttered.

"I feel like such a coward." Katara told him and he tilted his head in confusion. "I finally, _finally_ confront him and I couldn't even do anything. He killed my mother and I couldn't even hurt him." She squeezed her eyes shut in frustration and Zuko frowned.

"That's not true." He told her and she let out a bitter laugh.

"I always thought that if I confronted my mother's killer it would be so easy to take his life. A life for a life. He took hers and it should have only been fair." She spoke retreating her eyes back to the fire. "I wanted to do it, Zuko. I wanted to do it so badly. The anger and hate was coursing through every part of my body and I wanted to push it all on him." Zuko noticed that her hands balled up to fists on the sides of her legs and she closed her eyes. "But I couldn't." She murmured.

"Maybe Aang was right," Zuko whispered softly.

"No, Aang wasn't right." She said staring back at him with tears in the corners of her eyes. He was steady in his movements as he moved closer to her. He sat down next to her, but made sure to keep a foot of space between them. "He told me I needed to forgive him and I can't. I will never forgive that pathetic excuse of a man for taking my mother away from me." She gritted out as trails of tears poured down her face.

"You don't have to forgive him." Zuko said and Katara looked over at him. He suddenly felt nervous, but he swallowed the feeling and continued. "I can't imagine ever forgiving my father for what he has done to our family. For scarring me and banishing me, for turning Azula to what she is now, for the countless people he has killed, and the unspeakable things he plans and hopes for." He told her. "He told me that my mother died when in fact, he banished her also." He said.

"I'm sorry, Zuko." Katara said and Zuko shook his head.

"It's not your fault Katara. I'm not trying to turn this into about me. What I'm saying is, I can't and probably will never forgive my father, but I'm doing something to stop him. It's Aang's call at the end of the day to decide what to do with my father, but I left to join you guys and help Aang because I didn't want him to hurt anyone anymore. Maybe killing your mother's killer wasn't the answer, but I believe you're doing a lot of good to make sure what happened to you never happens to anyone else." Zuko told her and she stared at him with an unreadable expression.

"That probably means nothing because you already knew you were saving the world and stuff." He muttered embarrassingly. "Sorry, I'm not great at the motivational speeches." He sighed and buried his hands into his hair. How does Uncle do this? Maybe it comes with age. Although he can never imagine himself figuring out what to say. His eyes opened when he felt Katara's hand on his bicep.

"No, what you said made a lot of sense and it made me feel a little better." She told him smiling weakly at him as he turned to look at her. "Thank you, Zuko." She said leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. Zuko's face redden at the contact of her soft lips because if he were quite honest, this has been the most affection someone has given him since his mother. Mai wasn't quite the lovey-dovey type.

Katara pulled away and they stared at each other as the air shifted between them. Zuko almost wanted to believe that lightning had struck, but it stopped raining hours ago. He stared down into her large sapphire eyes and even though it was faint, that sparkle was back. He didn't know what to do so he just cleared his throat and looked away. This was Katara we were talking about, not some girl he could just…that he could just…he frowned at the thought. No, she wasn't just some girl. This was Katara.

"Um, no problem." Zuko muttered facing the fire. He exhaled slowly and Katara noticed the fire increase in size before receding back to its normal size.

"Zuko," Katara whispered while placing her hand on his face to turn him to look at her again. Zuko searched her eyes, trying to make out what she was thinking. Katara heart was drumming in her chest and her thoughts were racing, but they all focused on the silly Fire Nation boy in front of her. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his firmly. Zuko's eyes widened, but before he could do anything Katara moved her hand from his face and into his hair on the back of his head.

"Katara," Zuko gasped when they pulled away slightly, his arm around her and her hand in his hair.

"Please Zuko," Katara breathed. "Make me feel good." She pleaded and Zuko was suddenly in a panic. She was in a vulnerable place and he couldn't just do this with her, right now. Wasn't she supposed to hate him? This isn't the way he should really go to gain her trust.

"Katara," He said softly. "I don't want to—"

"Of course, of course, that was stupid of me to think." Katara interrupted him, mortified about throwing herself at him. "You don't want this."

"No! No! No!" He quickly said before grabbing her face in between his hands. "Katara you are the most beautiful girl I know and one of the strongest people I know. I respect you too much to be something you regret later. Today was hard on you and I don't want to take advantage of that." He said and if possible, Katara liked the silly Fire Nation boy just a little more.

"Zuko," She murmured placing her hand on top of his. "I want you to. I'm not some little girl who needs protection. I want this and I want you." She watched as his pupils dilated, but she could still see the conflict beneath the surface. "Please." She whispered.

Zuko didn't respond, but merely pulled her closer to him and kissed her. Katara moaned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Their kisses grew more and more heated as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and she pressed her body into his. Zuko fell back onto the ground and dragged her on top of him and she momentarily squeaked at the movement. He pulled away gasping and stared at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" He panted.

"Yeah." She told him before kissing him again. Zuko whirled them around so she was on the ground and moved his kisses to her neck. Katara was panting as she tried to pull Zuko's shirt off. He pulled away and untied his tunic before whipping it off. She flushed as she stared at his defined muscles and felt that warmth spread throughout her body. She placed her hand against his chest and blushed even more at the hardness of it. Zuko watched as she untied her tunic and pulled it off of her, revealing her under-wrappings. She pulled the end of it and it slowly unraveled to reveal her breasts.

"You're beautiful." Zuko murmured before pulling her into a searing kiss. Her toes curled at the sensation of their chests touching and proceeded to moan when Zuko's hand touched her breast. She gasped when his thumb grazed her nipple and he moved his lips down her neck and chest.

"Zuko," Katara gasped when he took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked. Her fingers found purchase into his hair, holding his head to her chest. He pulled on her nipple with her teeth that made her groan and he ran his hand down her tone stomach. He slipped his hand underneath her pants and wrappings and Katara's head shot up when he felt her hands on her mound. Zuko lifted his head away from her chest and stared at her and stopped his hand.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked breathlessly.

"No," Katara whispered. "But, um, I've never done…this…before." She blushed and Zuko leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I haven't either." He told her and she stared up at him in shock.

"But Mai?" She asked.

"We never made it that far." He stated awkwardly. "I didn't feel like I was ready." He told her honestly while looking into her eyes.

"But now?" Katara asked softly. He didn't answer right away, but soon placed his hand on her face and grazed her cheek with his thumb.

"The time is right." _And so is the person._ Zuko didn't want to make this anymore awkward by telling Katara that, so he kept that to himself. Katara leaned up and kissed him softly and Zuko proceeded to move his hand down her curls and graze her slit.

"You're so wet." He said with a mixture of amazement and lust. She moaned as he grazed his fingers against her clit. He used his other hand to pull down her pants and wrappings and she kicked it all off when it got passed her knees. Zuko lost his breath at the sight of the gorgeous Water Tribe girl underneath. Of course he knew Katara was beautiful, he'd have to be blind not to notice. But seeing her like this, underneath him in all her natural glory, he realized just how lucky he was to be here with her and how unworthy he was of her.

He slipped his hand down and pushed one finger into her. Agni, she was so tight. Katara trembled at the feeling and he made sure to keep pressure on her clit with his thumb. He started to pump his finger in and out of her and her moans filled the silent night. He kissed down her stomach and when he added another finger he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked. Katara's back arched off the ground and she screamed Zuko's name while putting her hands into her hair again. He licked and sucked her clit while pumping his fingers into her and she was becoming overwhelmed by the amount of sensations she was feeling. Soon Zuko felt her walls clamped down on his fingers and her hands grip his hair tightly.

"Zuko!" She exclaimed as her climax washed over her. As she recovered from her intense, Zuko removed his pants and under layers before laying over her again. Katara stared at him with her wide blue eyes and there was tugging in his chest that he felt when he was here with her. He leaned down and kissed her earnestly. Trying to convey to her how much this meant to him. How much _she_ meant to him. Katara wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned his kiss back with an equal amount of fervor. He leaned his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. Full of life and emotion like he was used to seeing. That's all he wanted from her.

"Are you ready?" He asked. She nodded and kissed him lightly. Zuko made sure to look at her as he slowly pushed himself into her. Katara groaned at the feeling of herself being stretched. While it stung a bit, the pain was bearable. He stopped when he felt her barrier and looked at her with wide-eyes and panting.

"It's okay," She told him with her hand on his face. He pushed through it and Katara gasped, but Zuko was quick to kiss her and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders tighter. Once the pain subsided Katara pulled away from Zuko, but pecked his lips once more. "I'm okay." She told him and his shoulders sagged with relief. She put both her hands on his face and brought his head down to kiss him. He started to thrust with his hips softly and their breathing both became ragged at the sensation.

"Agni," Zuko gasped pulling his lips away from Katara's and moving his face into her neck. She wrapped her arms around his back and her legs around his waist as he started to thrust faster. He rocked his hips harder into hers and she tossed her head back in pleasure as he kissed her neck.

"Katara," Zuko moaned as he felt a familiar tingling at the pit of his stomach. "Please, look at me." He said and Katara lifted her head back to stare into the amber eyes that she thought she once hated, but now…now…She kissed Zuko again and they both reached their peaks at the same time. Zuko growled loudly while Katara moaned and wrapped herself around Zuko tightly. They both collapsed on the ground panting and absolutely wiped of any energy they had. He rolled off of her and let them have a moment to catch their breath.

Zuko pulled Katara into his arms and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. He didn't really know what to say or what to make of all of this. She didn't say anything but simply pressed a kiss on a chest and snuggled in for the night. His heart was still pounding and he was sure he could hear it, but he couldn't find any energy within himself to say anything. Soon he drifted to sleep.

* * *

The next day they were back on Ember Island and Katara asked Zuko for some time alone from everyone and he promised to let the others know. They hadn't really said anything to each other in the morning or the ride back besides a few shared smiles or small pleasantries. Zuko didn't want to pressure her into anything. He didn't know what to make of last night and assumed that wasn't the first thing on her mind with everything else going on. When he returned to his family's beach home, he was instantly bombarded by everyone asking him what had happened and where was Katara. He told them what happened and that Katara needed space. Aang wanted to immediately go to her, but Zuko didn't allow him to.

After an hour, Zuko eventually went with Aang to talk to Katara and found her sitting on a dock staring out onto the ocean. Aang ran up to her telling her how proud he was of her for not killing that man, but he was quickly met with Katara's bitterness about the situation. Zuko remained silent as the two talked about what happened and the feelings they both shared.

Zuko watched as Katara stared at Aang angrily, telling him she could never forgive the man who killed her mother. She suddenly turned her eyes on him and smiled at him. He was suddenly flashbacked to that moment in the cavern where she stared at him with kindness and warmth. She stepped past Aang and towards Zuko.

"But I can forgive you." She told him before launching herself into his arms. Zuko hugged her tightly and his heart soared at her words. She forgave him. She really forgave him. He pushed his face into her hair and inhaled deeply smelling the jasmine and slight ocean scent. He really liked how she smelt.

"Thank you." He whispered softly and she pulled back and smiled at him. He watched her walked away and smiled softly. Little did he know that everything had changed between them.


End file.
